Qiblah direction from the sun (Most Accurate Method):The most accurate method for determining the Qiblah direction for mosques is the Sun. For most of the days at a specific time of the day, the sun shadow of a Sundial directly faces the Qiblah or the opposite of the S.D. shadow faces Qiblah direction. Also at noon time S.D. shadow or its opposite points to the Geographical North . These times can be calculated for everyday for any desired location.

Location:

Joliette, QC, Canada

Latitude:

Longitude:

Time zone:

Month:

Year:

Most people do not have access to programs that calculate the time when the Sundial shadow (or the opposite) points to the Qiblah direction; therefore, we at the Islamicfinder have decided to provide this service to help all Muslims Insha Allah to determine the Qiblah direction accurately provided that they use very accurate watch (or GPS timer). Based on your location, the program provides you with the following table:

Qiblah direction according to Geographical North = 58.828278
(From North Clockwise)

Date

G.N.Time

S.D. Shadow

Opposite S.D. Shadow

SD Shadow 90 degree

1

12:50

15:22

*

*

2

12:50

15:21

*

*

3

12:50

15:20

*

*

4

12:50

15:19

*

*

5

12:50

15:18

*

*

6

12:50

15:17

*

*

7

12:50

15:16

*

*

8

12:50

15:15

*

*

9

12:50

15:14

*

*

10

12:50

15:13

*

*

11

12:50

15:12

*

*

12

12:50

15:11

*

*

13

12:50

15:11

*

*

14

12:50

15:10

*

*

15

12:50

15:09

*

*

16

12:50

15:08

*

*

17

12:50

15:08

*

*

18

12:50

15:07

*

*

19

12:50

15:06

*

*

20

12:50

15:06

*

*

21

12:50

15:05

*

*

22

12:50

15:05

5:15

*

23

12:50

15:04

5:15

*

24

12:50

15:03

5:16

*

25

12:50

15:03

5:17

*

26

12:50

15:02

5:18

*

27

12:51

15:02

5:18

*

28

12:51

15:02

5:19

*

29

12:51

15:01

5:20

*

30

12:51

15:01

5:20

*

31

12:51

15:01

5:21

*

Sundial: The sundial is any straight vertical object which makes 90 degrees angle with the ground, e.g. Street's Lamp Posts.G.N.Time: The time when the Sundial marks Geographical North. It is also know as noon time.S.D. Shadow: The time when the Sundial Shadow points to Qiblah.Opposite S.D. Shadow: The time when the Opposite of the Sundial Shadow points to Qiblah.SD Shadow 90 degree: The time when the Sundial Shadow makes a 90 degree angle with the Qiblah. *: The Sundial or the opposite does not point to Qiblah on that date.

The Compass Method:Most people use compass to determine the Qiblah direction; however, the compass has two major problems: a) The compass can be influenced by metallic objects in the vicinity (e.g. furniture); therefore a compass placed in different places in the same area can give different directions.b) The compass points to magnetic north. The magnetic north varies from city to city and varies with time as well, and therefore magnetic north can not be used to fix Qiblah directions for mosques.The computation of Qiblah is done by using the Geographical North. Then the values converted with respect to the magnetic north enable the use of the compass. These tables are available in small booklets with compasses for Qiblah direction.